Zoom
Peter Edgerton
Friday, 9 January 2026, 11:07
La cuesta de enero (the January slope/hill) is once again upon us, bringing with it the annual need for a tightening of belts and a sprinkling of joie de vivre in order to allay the general sense of anti-climax the first month of the year can often bring. In fact, given the maelstrom of disturbing news coming our way these days, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the world is a wholly terrifying place, bereft of any joy or wonder. It isn't, of course, and luckily, there's a foolproof measure we can take to put a spring in the most despondent of steps: keep an eye/ear out for the good news stories buried in the morass of doom-mongering. These nuggets, as a rule, don't sell newspapers or engender vast numbers of clicks, but they're there nonetheless, shining like diamonds in the dark for anyone paying enough attention.
Take, for example, the recent development of a new dental gel at Nottingham University which has the potential to renew tooth enamel and radically reduce decay. Speaking as one whose mouth bears a striking resemblance to Jaws from James Bond, I can only marvel at the possibilities. Hats off to the Nottingham boffins, then.
Next, locally, the reservoirs in Andalucía are in a much healthier state following recent rainfall. In fact, at La Concepción, which serves the Costa del Sol, they recently had to actively release water owing to the fact that the 80% capacity had been reached. It wasn't that long ago that we thought it might never rain again around here and plans were being mooted for fleets of lorries full of water to be brought in from other parts of the country. Meanwhile, the mayor of Malaga was giving official advice on how he had personally shortened the time he spent in the shower, which conjured up images not easily erased from the mind, I can tell you.
On a national level, at the end of 2025, youth unemployment in Spain was at its lowest level since records began. Even allowing for the caveat that many of these jobs will be low paid, it can still only be good news. Most Spanish villages have a broadband connection and many still have very affordable housing. If the strong youth employment rate could somehow be brought into the mix, it might not be long until young people are able to own houses again like they did in the olden days.
Finally, and most conclusively, I read somewhere recently, that if somebody is living in average circumstances in Spain in 2026, they can count themselves to be among the most fortunate 1-2% of people ever to have lived on the face of the earth, mental images of the mayor in the shower notwithstanding.